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Improvements to CV guide (#1528)
* Re-order and re-title content to start with the "Sections of a CV" (which should come first), as well as a short introduction. * Re-focus "previous careers" advice on positives rather than negatives. * Add common CV mistakes, and fold the layout advice into it.
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org-cyf-guides/content/employability/cvs/_index.md

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description: Learn how to tailor your CV to the right employer
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---
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The purpose of a CV is to show an employer that you would be a good person to work with.
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Your CV should tell a story about who you are and why you are a good person to work with.
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A recruiter will typically skim through your CV for 5-10 seconds. You must stand out with your CV. Most people will not read all of it.

org-cyf-guides/content/employability/cvs/applicant-tracking-system/index.md

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title: Applicant Tracking systems
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description: Make sure your CV stands out from the crowd
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emoji: 🖲️
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Many employers (especially larger companies) use **A**pplicant **T**racking **S**ystems (ATSs) to manage the huge amount of candidates that apply for roles online. An ATS is a system that scans resumes and matches them against criteria (mostly keywords) defined by the employer.
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title: Common CV Mistakes
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description: Mistakes people often make in CVs
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---
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Lots of people make similar mistakes when making their CV. Look through your CV and see if you've done any of the things listed below.
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## Saying what you did and not what impact it had
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Compare the following pairs of statements on a CV. In each pair, the first just describes what was done, and doesn't say why it was useful. The second shows _value_ and is much more compelling.
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1. "Rewrote core logic in TypeScript"
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2. "Rewrote core logic in TypeScript, reducing bugs shipped to production by 30%"
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[//]: # (Break up list)
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1. "Automated manual tasks"
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2. "Automated manual tasks, saving 3 hours of paperwork per week"
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[//]: # (Break up list)
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1. "Built feature to better target potential customers"
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2. "Built features to better target potential customers, increasing sales by 10%"
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[//]: # (Break up list)
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1. "Mentored an intern"
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2. "Mentored an intern, helping them successfully deliver their project on time, leading to a job offer at the end of their internship"
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## Columns
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CVs should be a single column. Two-column layouts often waste space, are hard to read, and can get messed up by Application Tracking Systems.
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## Complicated designs
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It's ok to make your CV stand out - it can be beautiful and interesting. But never at the expensive of ease of reading and understanding. Make sure someone can quickly read your CV and understand everything in it.
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## Previous careers
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Often career-changers will skip previous jobs/careers from their CV. Other times, people will fill their CV with irrelevant experience. Both are mistakes.
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If you have an older unrelated career, focus on the transferrable skills from it. But think carefully about what these may be! If you were a journalist, you may have used skills in storytelling, explaining things, attention to detail, or focusing on the user. If you worked in a shop, perhaps you have great experience working in a team and supporting colleagues. Most jobs have transferrable skills - think about them and include them - but focus on what's relevant.

org-cyf-guides/content/employability/cvs/cv-layout/index.md

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org-cyf-guides/content/employability/cvs/working-through-sections/index.md renamed to org-cyf-guides/content/employability/cvs/sections-of-a-cv/index.md

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---
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title: Profile sections
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title: Sections of a CV
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description: Work through different sections in your CV
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emoji: 📄
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## Basic Information
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Your CV should clearly mention your name, email address and phone number. It is a good practice to include your LinkedIn and GitHub links as well.
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Add the most recent experience first. The most recent or most important information appears above the older or less important information. If education is more important than experience for this job advert, then put the education section above experience. Focus on the experience that is relevant to the job you want.
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If have an older unrelated career, de-focus its importance by writing less about it. However, you can extract and use the important aspects that are transferable. For example, if your previous experience was working in a pub then only write one line about it with no achievements, but you can include transferable skills such as working as part of a team and supporting colleagues.
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If you have an older unrelated career, focus on the transferrable skills from it. But think carefully about what these may be! If you were a journalist, you probably have skills in storytelling, explaining things, and user-focus. If you worked in a shop, perhaps you have great experience working in a team and supporting colleagues. Most jobs have transferrable skills - think about them.

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